Feeling the Dread
by A Feather of Pepa
Summary: My first flight. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that magial little moment. It was terrible.


Feeling the Dread

"Uncle Blu…" I started, feeling a small wave of dread crawling up my spine. "You can't be serious." God, with this new contraption, I was really prepared to make a wild run for it. Since I couldn't fly, though—he'd come back around and pick me up with his talons. Oh well. I fingered the pretty little crimson feathers on my head and swirled 'em around. His bronze eyes were looking up at me hopefully, smiling, while I sat on a tree branch of a mango tree and glared daggers at him. There was no way he was going to get me to do this. "No. The fudge. Way."

I guess I'd be courteous enough to introduce myself… Hmm? My name is Addison. But of course—you might be more familiar—my baby name is Aadi. Yep. And he's trying, after all of these years, to finally make me fly. No. Just… no. To fly was to throw yourself at the ground at 120 miles per hour and miss. "Instincts will take over," he tried to convince me. Instincts were as bad as his failing contraptions. C'mon, seriously? I was scared crapless. I mean, I sang in front of large crowds at The Half Seed, (Uncle Nico's club) and was just fine. I didn't have too bad a case of stage fright. But this…? There was a chance I would die.

There was no way I was taking that risk.

It was evening, and Dad was out. He had some errands to run with Abina and… Silviene… I still loathe him. Yes, and that was something that would never change. I mean, I can converse and tolerate him for a time being… But when I am alone with him, something inside of me will snap and I'll run away. He won't follow me, though.

He never does.

Enough of the grim thoughts! I'm here to share my experience with you… To show you the first time I've flown. And it was _horrible_. Darn Blu. Auntie Jewel was there, though, making sure he didn't accidentally kill me. That's right, _accidentally_. He had a tough time tolerating me when I was younger—dun dun duuuuuun! But no, I was sitting idyllically, staring at him with the most anxious complexion I could muster while I stared at his invention. He called it… A darn parachute.

It was a giant leaf, basically. Well, two. Laid on top of each other to make a large circle, and the stems fastened onto this little vine thing that was supposed to be a seat.

The second I laid my eyes on it, I knew I was going to die.

"Please?" he pleaded. Guilty. "I want you to feel your wings beat, like your heart. It's a wonderful feeling." Maybe so, but that was also the last feeling I would experience before I fell to my death. I did want to try it, I really did. But when I'm scared… I start to get really beotchy. But I didn't mean anything, and he knew that. But he didn't deserve any of the words that came out of my mouth a second later before I could think them through.

"That darn thing is going to kill me!" And he was so proud of it, too. So happy he made something for me, to help me feel the beat. But I was a miserable little child. Before I could see the broken look in his formerly enthusiastic eyes, I was already trembling, trying to figure out why I couldn't trust him. He was my uncle, and I loved him and the rest to death, but this thing… it wasn't very stable. Not from the eyes of a chick who had many ordeals in her life. "I'm sorry…" I told him, the words a slight whimper as I tried for forgiveness. What I lacked was resilience, the capability to see the bright side of things, or to be outgoing. Could you blame me, though?

"Try it, for me? I'll save you if it doesn't work." I was terrified. But to let my uncle down was the worst feeling in the world. I inched my way across the fruit tree branch and poked the thing with my talon, feeling my golden eyes burning into it. After all this smuggler poop, this was the way I was going to die? That was… kind of boring, actually. But who thinks about how they want to die? Well actually, maybe half the population does… shaddup, 'kay? I was scared. Leisurely, I picked the things up in my wings and cradled it to my chest, glancing back at Blu. Trepidation was filling my whole body when he beamed, comfortingly. Oooh, I hated him from that moment. But I was soon to love him after.

And then—shove! Jewel betrayed me! She hurled me off the branch, and then next thing I knew, I was looking down to the ground thirty feet below. Out of terror, my body moved like quick silver and I sat up onto the vine seat, straightening out the leaves and shut my eyes, waiting for a violent impact.

But everything was quiet… Peaceful.

Hardly daring to open my hazel eyes, I peeked through one and my jaw fell slack in amazement. I was drifting so softly, like a petal in the breeze, overlooking the ocean and watching the sun fall, drowning behind an oceanic salty breeze. The view cradled me, wind whispering in my tinnitus-ringing ears. My heart—it was strange almost a cross between adrenaline and excitement, and a cold feeling of collective personification. I felt, as I let my eyes slide shut, so… beautiful. I had become one with the sky, something I'd never yearned to feel in my entire life. The stars were adorning my eyes and singing from the treetops. Their dust sprinkled across the Milky Way, and night washed over the firmament in a blanket of navy blue. How did I know this, if my eyes were closed? I guess that's what we birds had—a physiological mind's eye. Something like a third eye, but inspired by intuition.

But I had never experienced something so… Beautiful.

Of course, the moment was destined to end. The wind had begun to howl as my subconscious almost drifted into a sleep-like trance, and one of the leaf's stems snapped in two.

Naturally.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I slid from its safe seat and directed toward the ground. I was about to greet it, and I could already tell that it didn't like me.

And then something happened.

_Whoosh_! My wings stretched out, wide, graceful. And they began to beat the air with strong, powerful pummels as I was lifted higher into the firmament, the stars stroking my pelt of feathers as I glided softly into the bare branch that Blu waited on, his eyes sparkling with zeal and pride. "You did it!" he cried, and as a family, we embraced the fact that I was now capable of flight and aerodynamics. I was squealing with joy, bouncing along the branch. Dancing, you name it.

There you have it. My short but sweet tale of my first flight.

But never, ever, ever, ever and I mean EVER, trust Uncle Blu's experiments. You'll die.

Trust me.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright, this was just a little thing to get me back into the Rio catagory. I hope you like it, because there will be more!

On another note, I'm quite busy lately, but I hope to get back soon enough.


End file.
